Multiposition electric switch



y R. H. BENTLEY EIAL 2,242,167

MULTIPOSITION ELECTRIC SWITCH 4' Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 8, 1959lNVENTORS YRoBERT H. BENTLEY WALTER L. DIETRICH BY THEIR ATTORNEYS.

May 13, 1941- R. H. BENTLEY ETAL MULTIPOSITION ELECTRIC SWITCH 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nqv. 8, 1939 'INVENTORS ROBERT H. BENTLEY WALTER L.DIETRICH BY THEIR ATTORNEYS May 13, 1941. 2,242,167

R. H. BENTLEY ETAL MULTIPOSITION ELECTRIC SWITCH Fil ed Nov. 8. 1939 4Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS ROBERT H. BENTLEY WALTER L. DIETRICH 3 file-fra t'l'a r ne ys Patented May 13, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEMULTIPOSITION ELECTRIC swrron Robert H. Bentley and Walter L. Dietrich,Hartf nn, c rs to The Arrow-Hart at Hegeman Electric Company, Hartford,Comp, a corporation of Connecticut Application November 8, 1939, SerialNo. 303,472

' 34 Claims.

This invention relates to electric switches. More particularly itrelates to electric snap switches of the type inwhich the movablecontact is capable of occupying more than two positions. In switches ofthis typeas heretofore .made, the handle and mechanism couldquickly berun, inadvertently or purposely, in either direction through a secondpositioninto a third, without stopping in the second position, although'the purpose of the person operating the switch might not be to go fromthe original position l to the third position immediately.

Under some conditions, the failure to stop 0 the ability to movedirectly through the second position 'to another, but when moving inthe.

opposite direction the movable contact will be compelled to halt beforemoving onward into its extreme position. The same may apply if theswitch is to occupy more than three positions.

In a three-position switch of this type, it may also be desired that thecontact-operatingmember be incapable of movement from an intermediateposition back into an extreme position out of which it has just moved,as for example 1 positions of rest.

It is an object 'of our invention to provide an which the mechanism canbe moved into more than two positions and in which it is impossible togofrom one position to the secondisuocee ing or intermediate position.

switch in which, when the contact-operatingmember is moved in onedirection, it is impossible for it to go froma given position to asecond improved form of an electric snap switch inposition withoutstopping in thenext succeeding Another object is to provideamultiposition' succeeding position without stopping in the next (first)succeeding position, but when the contactoperating-member is moved inthe opposite direction, it can be moved through an adjacent positionwithout stopping.

Another object is to provide a multiposition switch in which, when thecontact operator movies in one direction from one position to another,it is compelled to stop in the second position before continuing onwardinto a third position, but when the contact operator moves in theopposite direction, it will skip freely through a second position, intoa third. I

Another object is to provide a three-position switch in which, (1) whenthe contact operator moves in one direction from an extreme position, itis impossible for it to go to the other extreme position withoutstopping in the. intermediate position: (2) when it moves in the otherdirect1on, it will skip through the intermediate position withoutstopping; and (3) when it has moved into intermediate position, itcannot be from move into its several positions in sequential order. 1

' Another object is to, provide a multiposition switchin which a movablecontact will remain in one position only when manually held there but inwhich the movable contact can be moved into said position through anadjacent position from a third position only after the movable contacthas halted in said adjacent position; and, conversely-as anotherobject-when said movable contact is moved from the position in which itwas manually held, it will be halted in an adjacent position in spite ofan attempt to move through said adjacent position to -a third positionwithout a halt.

Another object of our invention is to provide an effective and ruggedconstruction of multiposition electric switches of the above and relatedtypes which can be made .with a minimum of expense and labor.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will become apparent as itis ,described in. con- Lil nection with the accompanying drawings.

This application is a continuation-impart of our application, Serial-No. 106,923, entitled Three position electric switch," filed October21, 1936.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a top plan view of our new improved ticallythrough the invention along line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section view taken vertically through theinvention along line of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a transverse or cross-sectional view of the invention takenalong line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional viewtaken vertically through theoperating mechanism of our invention and taken along line 6-8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation view of a modified form of motion-limitingmechanism which forms a part of our invention.

Fig. 8 is an end elevation view of the constru tion shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is ,a longitudinal section view partly broken away, with thesection being taken in a plane, such as is indicated by line 9-9 ofFig. 1. but of a' modified form'of the invention.

Fig. 10 is a detailed side elevation view of the operating mechanism ofthe switch of Fig. 9 with the parts being restrained from moving throughmid-position without stopping.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary detail view of the switch of Figs. 9 and 10with the parts in midposition. 1 i

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 10 but of a third form of theinvention.

Figs. 13-15 are diagrammatic views of the operating mechanism of thethird form of invention, in various positions.

Fig. 16 is a detail view of the handle and cam member used in the thirdform of invention.

Referring to the drawings, the parts of the switch inall forms of theinvention are mounted within a rectangular insulating base In which ishollowed out centrally for the reception of switch operating mechanism,the hollowed out part or recess in the base having parallel endwiseextensions (see for example II and I3.) into each corner of the basegiving the recess an H-formation. 'One each of four identical stationarywire terminal members 12, I4, I6 and I8 are mounted in each of the fourcorners of the casing at the end of the aforementioned endwiseextensions, these terminals preferably being slipped into vertical slotsformed in the walls of said extensions. These terminals, l2 for example,are each stamped from sheet metal into right angular formation with onearm I2, shorter than the other, the short arm having a binding screw l2threaded therein and accessible through an aperture in the bottom of thebase I0. Resilient contact fingers l2, l4, 16, [8 are riveted to theupper ends of the longer arms, for example 12*, of the terminals andextend toward the middle of the base. In the middle or the base atopposite sides ofthe recesses therein are combination terminal andstationary contact members of tridentate form, designated generally bythe numerals 20 and 22. These members 20, 22 may be identically formedand .iabricated of two elements: one, a contact element, being ofresilient metal, stamped into U-shape with the'end portions 20*, 20functioning as contact fingers; the other 20, a terminal element. may bestamped from sheet metalin a form like l2, l4, l8 and I8. These elementsof the members 20 and 22 are riveted together with the bridge portion ofthe U across the center of the long l g 01 the terminal, the ends of theresilient contacts l2 and 20' being of size and position to be oppositeto each other and likewise will also the end portions of resilientcontacts 20 and H 22 and 5, 22' and i8 be opposite.

contact fingers 20 and H (and in like manner contacts i6", 22', I8"- and22) movable contacts 24 and 26 are provided. These movable contacts areof sheet metal stamped into the shape of a U with its ends inturned. Thecontacts are mounted on sheet insulation slides 28 and 30 at the centerof the top edges of the slides in position to engage, in extremepositions, the aforesaid contact pairs. The slides ride on the floor ofthe base parallel to the side walls and between the 'faces of theaforementioned contact pairs in the manner illustrated most clearly inFigs. 1 and 5 of the drawings.

In order to move the slides in unison there is a pin 32 extendingtransversely of the base and engaging in recesses 3| in the slidesadjacent their bottom edges. This pin 32 is caused to oscillate byswitch operating mechanism in such a manner that the pin may occupy amid-position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and two extreme or end"positions, the right end position being shown in Fig. 6 and the left inFig. 9.

In all forms the mechanism for operating the switch contacts is mountedupon a frame comprising a pair of parallel side plates 33 and 34 whichare connected at their ends by narrow plates 36 and 3B in a conventionalfashion. The mechanism in Figs. 1-8 is operated by an operating lever 40which is pivoted by a pin 42 positioned diametrically in a metallicnipple 44 mounted centrally in a plate 46 that entends over the top ofthe switch base In and has between it and the base a centrallyperforated insulating plate 48. The plate 46 may be secured to the baseby through-bolts 50. The end of the operating lever 40 which extendswithin the casing has a number of gear teeth formed on it to engage withsimilarly cut teeth on an operating cam plate 52. This operating cam maybe a flat sheet metal stamping of approximately triangu- .lar shape,being rotatably mounted at its apex upon a spindle 54 which in turn ismounted transversely between the side plates of the switch frame. It maynow be seen that due to the engagement of the teeth on the operating cam52 and the operating lever 40 the cam may be rotated about spindle 5|into' various positions.

The bottom edge of the operating cam 52 has a cam surface upon it havingarcuate portions '52-, 52 and a central depressed portion or notch 52.When the switch is at rest the operating pin 32 seats in the notch 62.

In order that the operating pin 32 and hence the movable contacts maymove with a snap motion, means are provided to keep the movement of theoperating handle from being immediately and directly transmitted to theoperating pin 32. Thus in the center of the operating cam 52 a strut 56is positioned by providing a T- shaped aperture in the cam and providingnotches in the side of the strut so that the strut may be moved up intothe small part of the aperture 52. A pair of wire springs 58 are coiledaround the spindle 54 on opposite sides of the operating cam and theends of these springs engage opposite sides o! the strut 56. The ends ofthese springs also engage opposite sides of lugs 60 struck out from afabricated oscillating switching member, which is designated generallyby In order to bridge :the pairs of contacts 20*, |2 and the resilientthe numeral 62. This switching member is formed of identical sheet metalstampings 64 and 66 having the configuration as may best be seen inFigs. 2 and 6. The upper portions of these stampings are positioned onopposite sides 5 of the operating cam 52 while the lower portions areoffset and are secured together by a bracket 58 which has aperturesadjacent its opposite ends for the reception of projections on theopposite end of the stampings 85 and 6B. The ends of these projectionsare peened over to secure the stampings 64 and 66 and the bracket 58firmly together but with the stampings far enough apart to permitoscillating movement of the operating mm between the stampings.

Embraced between the lower portions of the atampings 64 and 66 is asliding yoke 12 through be lower portion of whose arms passes theoperiting pin 32. This yoke is held in position be- :ween the lower endsof the stampings 84 and 56. by means of inturned lugs 14 but the yoke is)ermitted limited sliding movement relative to ;he stampings by reasonof elongated slots 15 n the lower portions of the stampings 64 and 65vithin which slots the end portions of the opertting pin 32 work. A coilspring 78 positioned ietween the bottom of the yoke 12 and the vracket68 urges the yoke upwardly and the ends f the operating pin intoengagement with the op of the slots 18. The whole fabricated switchogmember, with the yoke mounted therein as escribed, is pivotally mountedupon the spindle A .To guide the operating pin 32 in its movement hereare provided in the side plates of the switch rame identical raceways 80which have arcuate ortions 80 intersecting adjacent a central ocket 80and terminating in end pockets 80". 11 the pockets being in the uppersurface of the aceways. A peak 80 is formed in the middle of ne lowersurface of the raceways.

Assuming that the switching mechanism is in 1e position of Fig. 6, itmay be seen that as the erating lever is moved counter-clockwise theoerating cam 52 will move clockwise, its surface Z pushing the operatingpin 32 longitudinally l the slots (6 and out of the right-hand pockets lin the side plates of the switch frame. While I moving the operating camstresses the switch irings 58 which act on the fabricated switchigmember 82 tending to move it in clockwise irection. As soon as theoperating pin 32 moves it of the right-hand pocket 8i) the switching:ember 62 is free to move and the stress of the vitch spring moves theswitching member with snap motion in a clockwise directioncarrying ithit the yoke 12 and the operating pin 32 id thus necessarily the slides28 and 30 and re movable contacts 24 and 25 mounted thereon. theoperating lever is carried past its midlSitlOI'l, as is quite often thecase, the operating .m will likewise be carried past its mid-position idthe arcuate surface 52 will be in position prevent the operating pin 32from coming to the central pocket 80 of the raceway. At .is time the pin32 will be in position X of Fig.

Thus the switch contacts will be held subantially in mid-position andwill not be able pass into an extreme position opposite to that am whichthey have just'departed until the mdle and operating cams come intotheir midlsitions, thereby placing the center notch 52 the cam and thecenter pocket 80 of the plate registry and permitting the operating pin32 move therein. After this has been accoin- 75 plished the operatinglever may be moved in either direction so that either cam surface 52" or52 will engage pin 32 and move it out of notch to permit the movablecontacts to go into either extreme position. as may be desired.

The trivial movement of the movable contacts which may result from theoperating pin 32 not being able to immediately fully enter the pockets80 in the case of over-travel of the handle, is of no importance in theswitch illustrated for the reason that the central position is anopen-circuit position. However, if it is desired to have the centralposition a circuit-making position a modified form of stop orover-travel preventing means, as illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8, may beprovided.

In this form of the switch the operating mechanism is identical withthat just described but the peak 89 is omitted from the raceway in theside plates of the switch frame. in fact the whole lower surface of theraceway is removed and a similar peak N35 is formed upon an additionalor auxiliary plate 109 which is substantially in the form of a hollowedout segment. The am:- iliary plate is mounted upon the spindle 54 and ispermitted limited oscillating movement so that when the pin 32 strikesthe peak Hi8 it will carry that peak and the auxiliary plate lUOslightly away from its center position. This will allow the pin 32 tocome into mid-position at once and be ready to move up into the pocketI80 whenever the notch 52 in the operating cam comes in registry withpocket 30. It may be noticed that the pin cannot travel at once over thepeak I06 into the arcuate portion I80 of the raceway because the peakand the surface 52 of the operating cam do not afford enough clearancefor the pin to pass between them. Stop lugs I01 may be struck from theside plate i34 to limit the movement of the auxiliary plate 100. Inorder to hold the auxiliary plate normally in mid-position the spindle54 may be extended far enough through the side plates of the frame topermit a spring I08 to be coiled around the extended end. The ends ofthe spring will be engaged with the opposite sides of a fixed lug H0struck out from the frame plate 134 and movable lug 1 42 formed on theauxiliary plate.

To shield the operating parts from the play of any are between thecontacts, vertical plates of insulation may be interposed between thecontacts and mechanism in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

Referring now to Figs. 9-11, wherein another form of the invention isshown, the operation in this form is similar to that just described inconnection with Figs. 7 and'8 except that on moving the contacts intothe extreme right position, they will not remain there unless theoperating handle is held manually in the extreme left position.

In this form, the gear connection between the I handle and operatingmember, as shown in Fig. 3,

is omitted and handle 240 (see Figs. 9 and 10) has the cam member 252rigidly connected thereto. In this form the cam member may be made oftwo identical plates which are placed back-to-back with their upper endsembedded in the molded composition handle 240. A flange 252 is turnedatright angles to the lower end of each plate forming a cam surface havinga profile similar to that of cam plate 52 of Fig. 2. Switching member 62of Figs. 1-6 has its counterpart in Figs. .9-11 in a one-piece, stamped,sheet-metal, U-shaped switching member 262,

pair of identical plates which are connected by transverse bars adjacentthe plate ends, the member being stamped from sheet metal into U-shape.*The ends of'the side plates of the stop member 200 are equally slottedas at 203 to accommodate-guide pins 204 which are positionedtransversely in the frame, having their ends secured in the frame plates233, 233.

For the purpose of maintaining the stop memher 200 in a certain centralposition (see Fig. 11) a'spring 208 is wound around one of the pins 204,with the spring endspressing against opposite sides of a strut 2l0 whichconnects the side plates 233, 234. The spring ends also embrace a lug2l2 bent in from one of the comers of the stop plate 200 (adjacent theleft end in Fig. 9). Thus if the lug H2 and stop plate move to the'rightor left, the spring 208 will tend to return the stop member to centralposition.

' In order that the switching member 262 shall not remain in the extremeright-hand position except when the handle is held manually in theextreme left, a spring 253 is wound around the pivot pin 254 of theswitching member. One end 259 of the spring presses against the cover246. The other end 259 of the spring presses against a lug 256 struckout of the cam operating member 252. The effort of the return spring 259is adequate to move the operating handle and cam operating member toshift the switch operating member into mid-position as shown in Fig. 11because of two factors: (1) the strength of the spring itself, whichneed be only strong enough to move the pin 32 along the cam surface 280into the,pcket 280; (2) the surface 280 is straight and does notterminate in a pocket as does the surface 280 (which is equivalent to,surface 80' in Figs. 1-6) so that little invention shown in Figs. 1-8,the operation of the form of Figs. 9-11 may-be understood. when withears 268 bent up from the transverse bot- Due to the fact that there ispractically no resistance to the movement of pin 32 from notch 230 asthe handle is moved (either under the effort of the spring 253 or bymanual force) the handle and switching member 262 and operating pin 32move as av unit as' the pin 32 moves from notch 280 to mid-position.

It will be noted that in Figs. 9-11, the switch operating mechanism andcontacts are capable of coming to restin three distinct positions,although in one position manual force must be applied to the handle. toprevent the spring 263 from moving the handle and thus actuating theoperating mechanism from one of its positions.

Referring now to Figs. 12-16, the construction of the operatingmechanism is generically the same as in Figs. 9-11, but differstherefrom in the shape of the cam operating member 352 in order torequire movement of the switch into its positions sequentially, ashereinafter described. In function, Figs..12-16 differ from the otherforms of the invention, firstly in the respect that in moving from rightto left, the pin '32 stop, although the switch mechanism must halt inmid-position as the operating pin'32 moves from left to right as in allthe other forms of the invention. The switch parts will remain in all ofthe three positions without manual assistance. Secondly, when the pin isin midposition, .it cannot be moved back to the left end-position but itmust go into the right endposition first, and only'then can it be movedinto the left end-position, skipping through -midposition on the way.

In structure, the stop member 302 of Fig. 12

differs from similar stop member 202 ofFlgs. 9-11'in that slot 303" atthe left end of said member is of less length than the slot 303" at theright end (which is the same length as slot 203 of Figs. '9-11). Alsothe rightsurface of the projection 306" and the left surface of thepocket 380 are so formed that when' the pin 32 hits the right side ofthe projection (in moving from right to left) and carries the stopmember 302 to the left until the end of slot 303* abuts the cross pin208, there will still be room enough between the surfaces of the stopmember and the adjacent surfaces of the frame to permit passage of pin32. Hence pin 32 will not be halted in mid-position in passing fromright to left. To

facilitate the pin skipping through center in going from right to left,the left surface of pocket 380 may be inclined, as illustrated in Fig.12, so as to the switching member moves from the position of Fig. 9 tothe right, it must .halt in mid-position because the projection 206 onthe stop member 200, upon being abutted by pin 32, moves to the rightand prevents passage of the pin 32 (see Fig. 10) until the pin seats inpocket 280 and releases stop member 200 (see Fig. 11). Then,.

on moving the switch handle to theextreme left, pin 32 is caused to moveto the right pressing down on the right hand slope of the projection andmoving the stop member to the left, the

pin 32 thus making way for itself to move against reduce friction andfacilitate movement of the pin across the surface out of the pocket andinto the next position. The spring for causing the Y snap movement ofthe contacts should be made strong enough to cause the pin to carrythrough mid-position by its own momentum, even though the handle hasbeen moved only normally and has not been caused to over-travelsubstantially. On the other hand, pin 32 will be halted in passing fromleft to right because the left surface-.of projection 306 and the rightsurface-of pocket 380 are the same as in Fig. 10, and slot 303 the sameas 203.

Switches of the type of Figs. 12-16 find a wide field of use in startingmotors. In such case.

the extreme right position of pin 32 (when located-in notch S as in Fig.14) is the starting" position and the extreme left position (with pin 32in notch R.) .is the .running position. Midtpiosition (as shown in Fig.12) is the stop" posi- In order to malre it impossible to move theswitch into "running" position, directly from 352' of the cam operatingmember, from the center toward the right end (see Fig. 16) sufilcientlyto prevent that surface of the cam from moving the pin 32 out of thepocket 380 when th handle 240 is moved to the right (see Fig. 13). Thus,the handle will abut the right end of the slot in the casing cover "8,through which the handle projects, and will be halted, as shown in Fig.13, before the cam surface 352 has moved the pin 32 far enough todisengage itself from the pocket 380. Therefore, movement of the pin 32from mid-position (Fig. 12) to extreme left position cannot be directlyaccomplished. The

pin must first move into extreme right-position (Fig. 14) and then skipthrough center to extreme left-position. The cut away portion 352* ofthe operating cam does not prevent movement of the mechanism fromstarting" position (Fig. 14) to running" position because the cam andhandle move through twice the are (equal to movement through twopositions) in that case that they do in moving from stop" position (ormid-position of Fig. 12) toward running position. Hencethe end of thecam surface 352' comes into play and disengages pin 32 from the notch S(see Fig. 15 wherein this action has just taken place) so that theswitch spring (see 58 in Fig. 6) can skip the pin 32 through midpositionto the left notch R. Operation of the V pin 32 from left to right (Figs.12-15) is normal,

1. e., into mid-position and halts there, and then moves into extremeright, just as in Figs. 1--ll. From the foregoing, it can be seen thatthe switch of Figs. 12-16 must move sequentially through its variouspositions from. stop" to starting to running and back to stop. The

switch can move no other way.

It the cam surface 352 beflnot cut away, the

switch will then be able to operate directly from mid-position intoeither end-position.

From the foregoing, it may be seen that we have provided switchmechanisms which are capable of moving a movable contact into more than,two positions and in which it is impossible, by over-throw of theoperating handle, to move the movable contact from one position throughthe next position into a second succeeding position without stopping inthat next or intermediate position.

We have also provided multiposition switches which, prevent movementthrough adjacent positions when moving continuously in one direction butpermit movement through adjacent positions when moving in the otherdirection. We have also provided a switch in which the contact operatorcannot be returned directly from midposition to the end-position iromwhence it came, but can be moved into that end-portion only after goingthrough each of its other posi tions sequentially.

It will be observed that in each of the forms of the invention. thecontacts may come to rest in'three distinct positions, but in one form,the

handle has only two positions of rest and maybe held in a third positionto allow the contacts to remain in their third positionoi rest.

means for operating the switch, and means in embodiments of theinvention as illustrated and described.

What is claimed is:

1. In an electric switch, fixed and movable switch contacts, meansjtomove said movable contact into more than two positions of rest, handlemeans for operating the. switch and means including stationary andmovable members cooperating to prevent said movable contact upon movingfrom one position toward'an-adjacent position from moving through saidadjacent position without remaining therein when said handle means ismade to over-travel substantially in an effort to move said movablecontact through said adjacent position without stopping, the cooperationof said stationary and mov. able members being independent of currentflow in the switch.

2. In an electric switch, fixed and movable switch -contacts, means tomove said movable contact into more than two positions of rest, handlemeans for operating the switch, and means including cooperating membersat least one of which is movable and engageable by a part of 'saidmovable contact-moving means, and effective upon operation 01' 'theswitch to halt said movable contact in the position of rest ad jacentits starting position, when said handle means is made to over-travelsubstantially, in an effort to move said movable contact through aposition adjacent the starting position without stopping therein, theoperation of said cooperating members being independent of current flowin the switch.

3. In an electric switch, fixed and movable switch contacts, means tomove said movable contact into more than two positions of rest, handlecluding a member movable with. said handle means upon operation of theswitch to halt said movable contact in the position of rest adjacent itsstarting position when said handle means is made to over-travelsubstantially in an effort to 'move said movable contact through aposition adjacent the starting position without stopping therein.

The principles of the invention are-applicable j to switches having morethan three Many otherforms within the scope our invention will occurto'those skiliedin'the- Therefoi'e we do not limit ourselves to the 7s4. In an electric switch, fixed and movable switch contacts, means tomove said movable'eontact into more than two positions of rest, handlemeans for operating the switch, fixed stop means, and means movable withsaid handle means upon operation of the switch and cooperating with saidstop means to halt said movable contact in the position of rest adjacentits starting position in case of unlimited over-travel of said handlemeans.

5. In an electric switch, fixed and movable switch contacts," means tomove said movable contact into more than two positions of rest, handlemeans for operating the switch, a projection,

' and means movable with said handle means upon member into and out ofmorethan two positions ot with a nap motion. and means controlled byover travel ofsaid handle means to cause said mar a, e-contact operatingmeans-to halt in the position ofrestfadiacentits starting position,-

whereby snapping of said movable-contact-operating means through saidadjacent position, due

to over-travel of said handle means, is prevented.

stop means to halt said movable-contact-operating member in the positionof rest adjacent its starting position irrespective of the degree ofover-travel of said handle means.

8. In an electric snap switch, fixed and movable switch contacts, amovable-contact-operating member, handle means for operating the switch,means to move said movable-contactoperating member into and out of morethan two positions of rest with a snap motion including stationary meanshaving a raceway therein, means actuated by said handle means formovement along said raceway, and means cooperating with saidhandle-actuated means and raceway to halt said movable-contact-operatingmeans in the position of rest adjacent its starting positionirrespective of the degreeof over-travel of said handle means. I

9. In an electric snap switch, fixed and movable switch contacts,, amovable-contact-operating member, handle means for operating the switch,means to move said movable-contactoperating-mem-ber into and out of morethan two positions of rest with a snap motion including stationary meanshaving a raceway therein, means slidable along said raceway but normallyheld in a position of rest at any one of certain points along saidraceway, said slidable means being moved along said raceway with a snap,and means cooperating with said slidablemeans to halt said slidablemeans at one of said points adjacent its starting point when saidhandlemeans is made to over-travel substantially in an effort to movesaid movable-contact-operating member through a position adjacent thestarting position without stopping therein.

' 10. In an electric snap switch, fixed and movable switch contacts,,,;amovable-contact-operating member, handle means for operating the switch,means to move said movable-contactoperating member into and out of morethan two positions of rest with a snap motion including stationary meanshaving a raceway therein, means movable along said raceway and adaptedto engage with said raceway at certain points to retain saidmovable-contact-operating means in its positions of rest, means on saidraceway to halt said movable-contact-operating means in a position ofrest adjacent its starting position when saidhandle means is made toover-travel substantiallyin an efiort to move saidmovablecontact-operating means through a position adjacent the startingposition without stopping therein.

11. In an electric snap switch, fixed and movable switch contacts, amovable-contact-operating member, handle means for operating the switch,means to move said movable-contactoperating member into and out of morethan two positions of rest with a snap motion including resilientlymounted movable means, stationary means engaged by said resilientlymounted means, means in said stationary means receiving said certainpositions of rest, and means operated by said handle means to releasethe engagement of said resiliently mounted means and said stationarymeans and to free said resiliently mounted means for movement intoanother position, and means on said stationary means to halt saidresiliently mounted means in the position of rest adjacent its startingposition, when said handle means is made to over-travel substantially inan efiort to move said movable-contact-operating member through aposition adjacent the starting position without stopping therein.

12. In an electric snap switch, fixed and movable switchcontacts, amovable-contact-operating member, handle means for operating the switch,means to move said movable-contactoperating member into and out of morethan two positions of rest with a snap motion including resilientlymounted movable means, stationary means engaged by said resilientlymounted means, means in said stationary means receiving said resilientlymounted means to retain the latter in certain positions of rest, andmeans operated by said handle means to release the engagement of saidresiliently-mounted means and said stationary means, and to free saidresiliently mounted means for movement into another position, means onsaid stationary means cooperating with said releasing means to halt saidresiliently mounted means in the position of rest adjacent its startingposition when said handle means is made to overtravel substantially inan eii'ort to move said movable-contactoperating member through aposition adjacent the starting position without stopping therein.

13. In an electric snap switch, fixed and movable switch contacts,handle means for operating the switch, means to move said movable switchcontact into and out of more than two positions of rest with a snapmotion including a switch frame, movable means resiliently eng saidframe, means on said frame to receive and position said resilientmovable means in certain positions of rest, means operated by saidhandle means to disengage said resilient means from said frame and causemovement of said movable contact intoanother position, and means on saidframe cooperating with said disengaging means to halt said movablecontact in the position of rest adjacent its starting positionirrespective of the degree of over-travel of said handle means.

14. In an electric switch, fixed and movable contacts, amovable-contact-operating member, means to move saidmovable-contact-operating member into more than two positions of rest.handle means for operating the switch, and means normally permittingmovement of a portion of said movable-contact-moving means in apredetermined path and responsive to overtravel of the handle torestrict said path and halt said movabie-contact-opcrating member in aposition of rest adjacent its starting position.

15. In an electric switch, fixed and movable I contact means, means tomove said movable concontact means in a second switch position, which I15 intermediate its starting position and a third switch position, whensaid handle means is made resiliently mounted means to reialn thelatterin ii; to over-travel in an eiiort to move said movable contact throughsaid second position without stopping therein, said cooperating'memberscontinuing to halt said movable contact means so long as said handleismaintained in overtraveled position, and the operation ofsaidcooperating members being independent of current flow in the switch.

16. In an electric .switch, fixed and movable contact means, means tomove said movable contact means with a snap motion into more than twoswitch positions, at least two of which are conducting positions, handlemeans, a fixed member, a movable member cooperating with said fixedmember and having a projection movable upon engagement by a part of saidmovablecontact-moving means to restrict the passageway of said part andto require said movable-contactmoving means to halt in a second switchposition, which is intermediate its starting position and a third switchposition, when said handle means is made to over-travel in an effort tomove said movable contact through said second position without stoppingtherein, the operation of said cooperating members being independent ofcurrent flow in the switch.

17. In an electric switch, fixed and movable contacts, contact operatingmeans movable into three switch positions, handle meanspmeans providinga fixed guide surface for a part of said contact operating means, meansmovable relative to said fixed guide surface and capable of being movedindependently of said handle means and providinga movable surface,engageable by said part of the contact operating means, said movablesurface cooperating with saidfixed surface to restrict the passage ofsaid part of the contact operating means to require said part to halt ina second switch position, which is intermemediate its starting positionand a third switch position, when said handle means is made toover-travel in an effort to move said movable contact through saidsecond position without stopping therein, the operation of saidcooperating members being independent of current flow in the switch.

18. In an electric switch, fixed and movable contact means, means tomove said movable contact means with a snap motion into more than twoswitch positions, at least two of which are conducting positions, handlemeans, and means including cooperating members at least one of which ismovable and engageable by a part of said movable-contact moving meansand eiIe'c-' tive on operation of the handle means in one direction onlyto halt said movable contact means in a second switch position, which isintermediate its starting position and a third switch position, whensaid handle means is made to over-travel in an effort to move saidmovable contact through said second position without stopping therein,the operation of said co-opcrating members being independent of currentflow in the switch.

19. In an electric switch, fixed and movable contacts, contact operatingmeans movable into three switch positions, handle means, means providinga fixed guide surface for a part of said contact operating means, meansmovable relative to said fixed guide-surface and capable of; being movedindependently of said handle means and providing a movable surface bleby said part of the contact means, said movable surface cooperating withsaid fixed surface, butonli whensaidhandlemeans ismovedin ofsaid 75 acertain direction.

part of the contact operating means to require said part to halt in asecond switch position, which is intermediate its starting position anda third switch position, when said handle means is made to over-travelin an effort to move said movable contact through said second positionwithout stopping therein, the operation of said cooperating membersbeing independent of current flow in the switch.

20. In an electric switch, fixed and movable contact means, means tomove said movable contact means with a snap motion into more than twoswitch positions, at least two of which are conducting positions, handlemeans, and means a third switch position, when said handle means is madeto over-travel in an effort to move said movable contact through saidsecond position without stopping therein, the operation of saidcooperating members being independent of current flow in the switch, andmeans to automatically return said movable contact means to saidintermediate position upon release of said handle means.

21. In an electric switch, fixed and movable contacts, contact operatingmeans movable into three switch positions, handle means, means providinga fixed guide surface for a part of said contact operating means, meansmovable relative to said fixed guide surface and capable of being movedindependently of said handle means and providing a movable surfaceengageable by said part of the contact operating means, said movablesurface cooperating with said fixed surfacewhen said handle means ismoved in a certain direction, to restrict the passage of said part ofthe contact operating means to require said part to halt in a secondswitch position intermediate its starting position and a third switchposition, when said handle means is made to overtravel in an effort tomove said movable contact through said second position without stoppingtherein, the operation of said cooperating members being independent ofcurrent fiow in the switch and spring means to automatically return saidmovable contact means to said intermediate position upon release of saidhandle means, said fixed guide surface being formed to facilitate saidreturn.

22. In an electric switch. fixed and movable contact means, means tomove said movable contact means with a snap motion into more than twoswitch positions. handle means, and means including cooperating membersat least one of which is movable and engageable by a part of saidmovable-contact-moving means and efl'ective on operation of the handlemeans in one direction only to halt said movable-contact means in asecond switch position, which is intermediate its starting position anda third switch position, when an effort is made to move said movablecontact through said second position without stopping therein, and meanscausing said movablecontact moving means to move through saidintermediate position without stopping when said handle means isoperated in the other direction.

23. Inan electric switch, fixed and movable contacts, contact-operatingmeans movable into three switch positions, handle means, meanspmviding afixed guide surface for smart of said contact-operating means, meansmovable relative to said fixed guide surface and capable of being movedindependently of said handle means and providing a movable surfaceengageable by said part of the contact-operating means, said movablesurface cooperating with said fixed surface, but only when said handlemeans is moved in a certain direction. to restrict the passage of saidpart of the contact-operating means to require said part to halt in asecond switch position, which is intermediate its starting position anda third switch position when an effort is made to move said movablecontact through said second position without stopping therein, saidfixed and movable surfaces being constructed and arranged to cause saidmovable-contact-moving means to move through said intermediate positionwithout stopping when said handle means is operated in the otherdirection.

24. In an electric switch, relatively movable contacts, contact-movingmeans adapted to oc- 'cupy'morethan two 'positionsy'at least two ofwhich are conducting positions, means compelling said contact-movingmeans to halt in a second position intermediate its starting positionand a third position as said handle means is moved in one directionnotwithstanding that said handle means is made to over-travel in anefiort to move said contact-moving means through said second positionwithout stopping therein, and means causing said contact-moving means toskip through an intermediate position on reverse operation of saidhandle means.

25. In an electric switch, relatively movable contacts, contact movingmeans adapted to occupy more than two positions, at least two of whichare conducting positions, means compelling said contact-moving means tohalt in a second position intermediate its starting position and a thirdposition as said handle means is moved in one direction notwthstandingthat said handle means is made to over-travel in an effort to move saidcontact-moving means through said second position without stoppingtherein, and means permitting said contact-moving means, upon reverseoperation of said handle means. to move through an intermediate positionwhen said handle means is caused to overtravel during said reverseoperation.

26. In an electric switch, relatively movable contacts, contact-movingmeans adapted-to occupy at least three positions, means compellingcontact-moving means to halt in a second position intermediate itsoriginarposition-and a third position as said handle means is moved inone direction, notwithstanding that the handle means is made toover-travel in an effort to move said contact-moving means through saidintermediate position without stopplng therein, and means preventingreverse movement of said contact-moving means directly back into saidoriginal position from said intermediate position.

27. In an electric switch, relatively movable contacts, contact-movingmeans adapted to occupy at least three positions, means compellinr 'gsaid contact-movingmans to halt in a second position intermediate itsoriginal position and a third position as said handle means is moved inone direction, notwithstanding that the handle means is made toover-travel in an. effort to move said contact-moving means through saidintermediate position without stopping therein, and means requiring saidcontact-moving means to be moved into said third position before it canbe moved back into said original position.

28. A switch as claimed in claim 26, including means to cause saidcontact-moving means to move from all its positions with a snap motion.

29. In an electric switch, relatively movable contacts, contact-movingmeans adapted to occupy at least three positions, means compelling saidcontact-moving means to halt in a second position intermediate itsoriginal position and a third position as said handle means is moved inone direction, notwthstanding that the handle means is made toover-travel in an eflort to move said contact-movin means through saidintermediate position without stopping therein, and means preventingreverse movement of said contact-moving means directly back into saidoriginal position from said intermediate position, and means causingsaid contact-operating means to skip through an intermediate position onreverse movement of said handle means from a position beyond saidintermediate position.

30. In an electric switch, relatively movable contacts, contact-movingmeans adapted to 0ccupy at least three positions, means compelling saidcontact-moving means to halt in a second position intermediate itsoriginal position and a third position as said handle means is moved inone direction, notwithstanding that the handle means is made toover-travel in an eflort to move said contact-moving means through saidintermediate position without stopping' therein, and

' means preventing reverse movement of said contact-moving meansdirectly back into said original position from said intermediateposition, and means permitting said contact-operating means to movethrough an intermediate position without stopping therein, on reversemovement of said handle means from a position beyond said intermediateposition.

31. A switch as claimed in claim 29, including means to cause saidcontact-moving means to move from all its positions with a snap motion.

32. A switch as claimed in claim 30, including means to cause saidcontact-movin means to move from all its positions with a snap motion.

33. In an electric switch, relatively movable contacts, contact-movingmeans adapted to 00- cupy at least three positions, means compellingsaid contact-moving means to halt in a second position intermediate itsoriginal position and a third position as said handle means is moved inone direction, notwithstanding that the bandle means is made toover-travel in an eflort to move said contact moving means through saidintermediate position without stopping therein, and means requiring saidmechanism to come to rest in said original intermediate and thirdpositions in that order, as the switch is operated.

A-switch as claimed in claim 33, including means to cause saidcontact-moving means'to move from all its positions with a snap motion.

ROBERT H. BENTLEY. WALTER L. DIE-TRICK.

